Fred l



(No Model.)

I. L. FAIRBANK & 0. B. LANGLEY. BALLOT BOX.

No. 555,600. Patented Mar. 3, 1896.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRED L. FAIRBANK AND CHARLES B. LANGLEY, OF DES MOINES, IOWA, ASSIGNORS TO FAIRBANK-LANGLEY VOTING BOOTH 00., OF SAME PLACE.

BALLOT-BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 555,600, dated March 3, 1896.

Application filed June 14,1895. Serial No. 552,863. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, FRED L. FAIRBANK and CHARLES E. LANGLEY, citizens of the United States of America, residing at Des Moines, in

the county of Polk and State of Iowa, have invented an Improved Ballot-Box, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide an attachment for ballot-boxes whereby the re- I o ceiving-slot may be securely closed to prevent the fraudulent insertion of ballots and to construct a simple, strong and durable ballotbox.

Our invention consists in the construction,

I 5 arrangement, and combination of the various parts of the device, as hereinafter set forth, pointed out in our claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the complete ballot-box with the receiving-slot open. Fig. 2 is a top view of the ballot-box closed, and Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the top portion thereof.

Referring to the accompanying drawings,

2 5 the reference-letter A is used to designate the box proper, preferably made of metal and cylindrical in shape. A is a hinged lid for the same, provided with a slotB of a size suitable for the admission of a ballot, and B is 0 a lock for the lid.

0 designates a flat metal bar securely hinged to the box proper and adapted to lie fiat upon the lid.

0 is a slotted section hinged to the free end 3 5 to admit a staple 0 so that the said bar may be secured to the box by means of the lock (3.

It will readily be seen that ballots may be inserted in the slot beneath the fiat bar 0. To overcome this objectionable feature we secure a projection or loop 0 of a size to closely fit in the said slot, to the under surface of the said bar, so that when the latter is closed the loop will completely fill up the slot, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 3.

D designates a handle formed on or fixed to the top and central portion of the bar 0.

Having thus described the device, what we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States therefor, is

1. An improved ballot-box, comprising a suitable box, a lid for the same, a slot for the admission of ballots in the said lid and a bar hinged to one side of the box and adapted to pass over the lid thereof and be secured to the opposite side of the box and a projection on said bar adapted to enter the said slot for the purposes stated.

2. An improved ballot-box comprising a suitable box, a hinged lid for the same, -a slot for the admission of ballots in the lid and means for locking the lid, a fiat metal bar hinged to one side of the box and extended across the lid and means for looking it to the box on the opposite side, and a projection on the under surface of said bar adapted to enter and fill the said slot in the lid.

3. An attachment for ballot-boxes and the like comprising a metal bar adapted to be detachably secured to a ballot-box to overlap the slot for the admission of ballots and a projection on the under face of said bar adapted to enter said slot, in combination with a box having a movable cover and a slot in the cover, for the purposes stated.

FRED L. FAIRBANK. CHAS. B. LANGLEY. Witnesses:

E. B. OUPERNELL, R. DAVIS. 

